Hi all,
Most pastors and Christians have no idea that righteousness is by its very nature, both vertical and horizontal at the same time. But now you do. All giving in the OT and New Testament are founded in us being generous with others because the Father has been and continues to be, generous, with us.
Love the Lord your God with all your heart, strength, soul and strength, AND your neighbor as yourself - These 2 elements together as one are righteousness (tzedakah). This is the basis for all giving of money, time, resources, talents, wisdom throughout the Bible. We give to our fellow man as an act of rejoicing we have been made right with God.
For instance:Matthew 6:25-34, Seek ye first the Kingdom and His righteousness...
Jesus said not to be worried about food, drink, or things needed (horizontal). He said those are things Gentiles seek for they don't have a heavenly Father providing for them. The Father demonstrates righteousness for He is righteous (vertical) and He provides for His children (horizontal).
In Matthew 25:31-46 Jesus said at His return He will be as one who separates sheep (believers) from goats (unbelievers). The sheep are identified by these characteristics of righteousness in the horizontal:"I was hungry and you fed me, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was naked and you clothed me, I was a stranger and you took me in, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you visited me."
These are all characteristics of righteousness. Because we have been made right before God vertically, our Life in Him is naturally poured out to those in need horizontally.
We are a unique people
Tzedakah continues to be seen in Paul's letters:"And you he has made alive, who were dead in your sins (vertical) and trespasses (horizontal)." Ephesians 2:1
"...and to put on the new man, which is created to be like God in true righteousness (vertical) and holiness (horizontal)." Ephesians 4:24
"Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other (horizontal), just as in Christ God forgave you." (vertical) Ephesians 4:31-32
Remember that the whole of the New Testament was written by apostles doing church in the home, writing to people doing church in the home. For us doing house church, the horizontal elements take on special meaning. It's totally different if you sit in a large auditorium and don't know most of the people around you. But in house church, you know one another.
Priorities
The question for us is:How do we organize our heart to give? Some are so giving they would give away their food money to help someone hungry. Others have no budget, no sense that just because money is in an account it can't be spent because it will be needed in 5 days to pay a bill. Priorities established in our heart help establish order in our finances.
We have seen:Set aside something according to how the Lord has blessed you this week. Give yourselves first to the Lord, then give to someone. Giving is figured according to what you have and not what you don't have. God provides seed for sowing and bread for eating. If we give it enters into our future when it will come back to us in good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over. I Corinthians 16:2, II Corinthians 8:4-5, 11-15, 9:8-10, Luke 6:38.
II Corinthians 9:8:'And He will make all grace about towards you so that you have all sufficiency in all things so you can abound to all good things.' I have seen this in our own lives. If you live to give, the Father keeps the flow going through you, and you will suffer no lack.
Decades ago...
...I began always carrying some cash on me to be able to give to someone in need. My heart had turned when I understood that tithing and giving in the New Testament had been swallowed up by Christ in me in a lifestyle of thankfulness expressed in giving to others.
Tithing and giving changed from feeling external pressure to do so, to flowing from internal joy as an expression of gratitude for having been made righteous before the Father. In my heart I felt like a kid at Christmas, having a $20 bill set aside as an offering to the Lord for giving to strangers.
One day:
I came out of a grocery store and noticed a young woman walking among cars asking for money. She approached me and asked for coffee money. She assured me she didn't do drugs, but she liked visiting the coffee shop next to the grocery store.
I knew something was not right in her thinking, and told her I needed to do something first if she would wait. I then went into the coffee shop and found out she was a regular there, and that she had lost a baby at birth and had never been mentally right since. She lived in a shed behind her mother's house so she could deal with her pain by herself.
I gave the $20 to the manager asking him to give her credit for coffee, and returned to her in the parking lot (car park) still wandering around asking people for coffee money. I told her what I did, and told her I would pray for her, not revealing what I knew. She said she prayed everyday and thanked me. I came away thinking her prayers were for her baby now in heaven, and perhaps for her pain.
I never saw her again, but that brief encounter stays with me to this day. I have often prayed for her, and rejoice that brief expression of tzedakah enabled me to express kindness to her, and has resulted in me praying for her these last 30+ years. So that $20 gift made first to the Lord and then given to her, has resulted in over 30 years of prayer for her - tzedakah.
As we've covered in this series, money either flows to you or away from you. It is up to us to change our ability for the Lord to trust us with money. Multiple streams of income is key to providing more than our basic needs. He provides seed and bread and it is up to us and Christ in us to decide which is which. Giving to others enters into our future to provide for us at a future time. A giver has all grace abounding to us in all things.
And all of these things are founded upon righteousness - tzedakah. We have been made right with God, therefore we want to be generous to our fellow man, having received His generosity once, and daily. We cannot help but to live a lifestyle of giving and generosity.
New subject next week, until then, blessings,
John Fenn
cwowi.org and email me at [email protected]
Most pastors and Christians have no idea that righteousness is by its very nature, both vertical and horizontal at the same time. But now you do. All giving in the OT and New Testament are founded in us being generous with others because the Father has been and continues to be, generous, with us.
Love the Lord your God with all your heart, strength, soul and strength, AND your neighbor as yourself - These 2 elements together as one are righteousness (tzedakah). This is the basis for all giving of money, time, resources, talents, wisdom throughout the Bible. We give to our fellow man as an act of rejoicing we have been made right with God.
For instance:Matthew 6:25-34, Seek ye first the Kingdom and His righteousness...
Jesus said not to be worried about food, drink, or things needed (horizontal). He said those are things Gentiles seek for they don't have a heavenly Father providing for them. The Father demonstrates righteousness for He is righteous (vertical) and He provides for His children (horizontal).
In Matthew 25:31-46 Jesus said at His return He will be as one who separates sheep (believers) from goats (unbelievers). The sheep are identified by these characteristics of righteousness in the horizontal:"I was hungry and you fed me, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was naked and you clothed me, I was a stranger and you took me in, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you visited me."
These are all characteristics of righteousness. Because we have been made right before God vertically, our Life in Him is naturally poured out to those in need horizontally.
We are a unique people
Tzedakah continues to be seen in Paul's letters:"And you he has made alive, who were dead in your sins (vertical) and trespasses (horizontal)." Ephesians 2:1
"...and to put on the new man, which is created to be like God in true righteousness (vertical) and holiness (horizontal)." Ephesians 4:24
"Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other (horizontal), just as in Christ God forgave you." (vertical) Ephesians 4:31-32
Remember that the whole of the New Testament was written by apostles doing church in the home, writing to people doing church in the home. For us doing house church, the horizontal elements take on special meaning. It's totally different if you sit in a large auditorium and don't know most of the people around you. But in house church, you know one another.
Priorities
The question for us is:How do we organize our heart to give? Some are so giving they would give away their food money to help someone hungry. Others have no budget, no sense that just because money is in an account it can't be spent because it will be needed in 5 days to pay a bill. Priorities established in our heart help establish order in our finances.
We have seen:Set aside something according to how the Lord has blessed you this week. Give yourselves first to the Lord, then give to someone. Giving is figured according to what you have and not what you don't have. God provides seed for sowing and bread for eating. If we give it enters into our future when it will come back to us in good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over. I Corinthians 16:2, II Corinthians 8:4-5, 11-15, 9:8-10, Luke 6:38.
II Corinthians 9:8:'And He will make all grace about towards you so that you have all sufficiency in all things so you can abound to all good things.' I have seen this in our own lives. If you live to give, the Father keeps the flow going through you, and you will suffer no lack.
Decades ago...
...I began always carrying some cash on me to be able to give to someone in need. My heart had turned when I understood that tithing and giving in the New Testament had been swallowed up by Christ in me in a lifestyle of thankfulness expressed in giving to others.
Tithing and giving changed from feeling external pressure to do so, to flowing from internal joy as an expression of gratitude for having been made righteous before the Father. In my heart I felt like a kid at Christmas, having a $20 bill set aside as an offering to the Lord for giving to strangers.
One day:
I came out of a grocery store and noticed a young woman walking among cars asking for money. She approached me and asked for coffee money. She assured me she didn't do drugs, but she liked visiting the coffee shop next to the grocery store.
I knew something was not right in her thinking, and told her I needed to do something first if she would wait. I then went into the coffee shop and found out she was a regular there, and that she had lost a baby at birth and had never been mentally right since. She lived in a shed behind her mother's house so she could deal with her pain by herself.
I gave the $20 to the manager asking him to give her credit for coffee, and returned to her in the parking lot (car park) still wandering around asking people for coffee money. I told her what I did, and told her I would pray for her, not revealing what I knew. She said she prayed everyday and thanked me. I came away thinking her prayers were for her baby now in heaven, and perhaps for her pain.
I never saw her again, but that brief encounter stays with me to this day. I have often prayed for her, and rejoice that brief expression of tzedakah enabled me to express kindness to her, and has resulted in me praying for her these last 30+ years. So that $20 gift made first to the Lord and then given to her, has resulted in over 30 years of prayer for her - tzedakah.
As we've covered in this series, money either flows to you or away from you. It is up to us to change our ability for the Lord to trust us with money. Multiple streams of income is key to providing more than our basic needs. He provides seed and bread and it is up to us and Christ in us to decide which is which. Giving to others enters into our future to provide for us at a future time. A giver has all grace abounding to us in all things.
And all of these things are founded upon righteousness - tzedakah. We have been made right with God, therefore we want to be generous to our fellow man, having received His generosity once, and daily. We cannot help but to live a lifestyle of giving and generosity.
New subject next week, until then, blessings,
John Fenn
cwowi.org and email me at [email protected]
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